AMD Radeon RX 9070 vs. 9070 XT: Which Should You Buy?

Should you buy the Radeon RX 9070 or the RX 9070 XT? It is a question we get asked surprisingly often, so for anyone unsure which model is the better choice, we are going to cover everything, including the basics for readers who do not live and breathe this stuff.

The truth is that the RX 9070 and 9070 XT are very similar. When the cards launched, the non-XT version did not make much sense, because it cost just 8% less while packing 13% fewer cores. But it's now been over a year since these models first appeared, and pricing has fluctuated considerably. At times, the non-XT model has been significantly cheaper, which explains why so many of you have been asking about it.

In terms of specifications, both offer 16GB of 20Gbps GDDR6 memory on the same 256-bit-wide memory bus, providing 640 GB/s of bandwidth. Both also feature 64MB of Infinity Cache and support the PCI Express 5.0 x16 interface.

Where they differ is in their core configurations. The RX 9070 features 3,584 cores, whereas the XT version gets 4,096, a 14% increase. According to AMD's specifications, the RX 9070 XT also boosts to 2,970 MHz, compared with just 2,520 MHz for the non-XT model, giving it an 18% clock-speed advantage.

Based on those specifications, you might expect the XT model to be considerably faster. But as is often the case, it depends.

Most models do not adhere strictly to AMD's reference clocks. The Sapphire Pure cards, for example, show only a 5 – 6% clock-speed difference between the two GPUs, while the Pulse versions are closer to 9 – 10%.

The PowerColor Hellhound RX 9070 averaged a clock frequency of 2,745 MHz, meaning the Sapphire Pure 9070 XT clocked 13% higher on average. Meanwhile, the Asus TUF Gaming RX 9070 XT averaged 3.2 GHz, putting it 17% ahead.

Given that most RX 9070 XT cards appear to have no trouble operating at around 3.2 GHz, you might assume it would be easy to overclock the non-XT models to similar frequencies. After all, they are effectively the same product, only with a few cores disabled. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Most RX 9070 cards max out at around 2.8 GHz due to power limits enforced by AMD.

The only way around this is to flash the graphics card with a different BIOS, though doing so can introduce a few complications. The BIOS requires a valid signature, meaning you need to use one from a closely related model. Ideally, that means flashing a Pure RX 9070 with a Pure RX 9070 XT BIOS, or at least using an RX 9070 XT BIOS with the same I/O configuration, including the same number of DisplayPort and HDMI outputs.

As we just noted, the RX 9070 is effectively an RX 9070 XT with some cores disabled, but those disabled cores cannot be restored. They are laser-cut at the factory, so flashing an RX 9070 XT BIOS will not re-enable them. What the new BIOS can do is significantly increase the PPT, or power limit, providing additional headroom for higher core frequencies and improved performance.

Ignoring BIOS modifications, the RX 9070 XT has 14% more cores and generally clocks around 10% higher. In our day-one review, we found that the XT was 9% faster on average at 1440p and 14% faster at 4K.

Since then, we have seen numerous display driver updates, a new Windows 11 build, game updates, and, of course, plenty of new games. While updating some of our larger GPU benchmarks, we added the RX 9070 so we could compare it with the XT version across a massive range of titles. Given how similar these products are, we will not examine all 50 graphs individually, but we will look at a few games before moving on to the average results.

Test System Specs

Benchmarks

Spider-Man 2

Starting with Spider-Man 2 using the Very High quality preset, the RX 9070 XT was 10% faster when comparing average frame rates at 1440p and 14% faster at 4K. However, the difference was more significant for the 1% lows, where the XT delivered a 21% improvement at both tested resolutions.

We saw similar margins after switching to the more demanding Ray Tracing Ultimate preset. At 1440p, the XT model was 22% faster for the 1% lows, though just 12% faster when comparing average frame rates. Moving up to 4K widened the gap considerably, with the RX 9070 XT delivering a 29% higher average frame rate and 26% stronger 1% lows. This is about the largest performance difference you can expect between these two models.

Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight

Changing gears with Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, we will start with the Medium quality results. At 1440p, the RX 9070 XT was up to 10% faster, as seen in the 1% lows, with that margin increasing to 15% at 4K.

Using the more demanding Epic quality preset, the RX 9070 XT was 13% faster at 1440p and 21% faster at 4K, or 24% faster when comparing the 1% lows. Once again, it is under the most demanding test conditions that the XT model achieves its largest gains over the standard RX 9070.

007 First Light

Next up is 007 First Light, starting with the Medium quality results. At 1440p, the RX 9070 XT delivered a 12% higher average frame rate than the standard RX 9070, alongside a more modest 7% improvement in the 1% lows. Increasing the resolution to 4K widened the gap considerably, allowing the XT to pull ahead by 17% on average and 15% for the 1% lows.

Using the Ultra quality preset at 1440p, the RX 9070 XT maintained a 12% lead in average frame rates while delivering an 11% improvement in the 1% lows. At 4K Ultra, the average frame rate advantage remained at 12%, but the 1% lows improved by a more substantial 20%.

Fortnite

Looking at Fortnite in Performance Mode, the margins were remarkably slim at 1440p. The RX 9070 XT edged out the standard RX 9070 by just 3% on average and 2% for the 1% lows. Increasing the resolution to 4K widened those margins slightly to 7% for both metrics.

Stepping up to the Epic quality preset with ray tracing produced somewhat better scaling for the XT model. At 1440p, it delivered a 9% average frame rate advantage and a 10% improvement in the 1% lows. At 4K under these demanding ray tracing settings, the RX 9070 XT recorded its best result in this title, finishing 10% faster on average with 13% stronger 1% lows.

Counter-Strike 2

In Counter-Strike 2 using the Medium quality preset at 1440p, the XT model achieved a solid 14% lead in average frame rates, though that advantage shrank to 6% for the 1% lows. Moving to 4K evened things out somewhat, resulting in a 12% increase in the average frame rate and an 11% improvement in the 1% lows.

Using the Very High quality preset at 1440p, the RX 9070 XT delivered a 14% performance improvement for both the average frame rate and 1% lows. Interestingly, the gap tightened again at 4K, with the XT offering a 10% increase in the average frame rate but only a 4% uplift in the 1% lows.

Forza Horizon 6

Moving on to Forza Horizon 6, the Extreme quality preset at 1440p saw the RX 9070 XT deliver an 8% higher average frame rate alongside a 7% improvement in the 1% lows. The 4K results scaled slightly better, with the XT providing a 10% improvement across both metrics.

The real differentiation appeared after enabling the demanding Extreme + RT quality preset. At 1440p, the XT leapt ahead by 21% on average and 22% for the 1% lows. This strong scaling continued at 4K, where the RX 9070 XT finished 23% ahead for both the average frame rate and 1% lows.

Crimson Desert

Crimson Desert presented a tighter race. Using the Medium quality preset at 1440p, the RX 9070 XT was only 6% faster on average, with a minor 4% improvement in the 1% lows. At 4K, the XT stretched its legs a little more, achieving a 10% average frame rate advantage and 12% stronger 1% lows.

Switching to the Cinematic quality preset at 1440p, the XT maintained a modest 8% advantage in the average frame rate and a 6% lead in the 1% lows. Moving up to 4K resulted in a straightforward 10% improvement for both metrics over the standard RX 9070.

Arc Raiders

Finally, Arc Raiders produced some substantial gains for the XT model. At 1440p using the Epic quality preset with RT Static, the RX 9070 XT delivered a 10% higher average frame rate and a more noticeable 18% improvement in the 1% lows. At 4K using the same settings, it achieved a 12% average frame rate advantage and an 11% uplift in the 1% lows.

Maxing out the game with the Epic quality preset and RT Epic produced the largest 1% low improvements in this group of tests. At 1440p, the XT was 14% faster on average but a massive 29% faster in the 1% lows. This trend continued at 4K, where the XT delivered a 12% higher average frame rate alongside a substantial 26% improvement in 1% low performance.

Average Performance in 52 Games

Across a massive selection of games, the Radeon RX 9070 XT was 12% faster on average at both 1440p and 4K. That is broadly in line with our original review data, which placed the advantage within a 9 – 14% range based on a much smaller selection of games.

How to Undervolt Using Adrenaline

As a quick aside, these GPUs can be undervolted for better performance, and the process is both quick and easy. How far you can push the undervolt will depend on the individual GPU. We have tested numerous RX 9070 and 9070 XT graphics cards, and all of them handled a voltage offset of -80 mV. Most were stable at -100 mV, while a few managed -120 mV without issue.

To get started, open AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition and navigate to Performance > Tuning. In the GPU section, change the setting from Default to Custom, then enable the GPU Tuning, VRAM Tuning, and Power Tuning controls.

Under GPU Tuning, the only setting you need to adjust is the Voltage Offset, measured in millivolts. You want to decrease the voltage, not increase it. Reducing the voltage lowers power consumption and temperatures, giving the GPU additional headroom to maintain higher clock speeds.

The testing covered in the next section was conducted using a -100 mV offset for both the RX 9070 and 9070 XT. All of our samples remained completely stable with this setting, while some could reach -120 mV without issue.

Every model we tested also handled a VRAM frequency of 2,700 MHz, so you might as well make that adjustment before maximizing the total board power limit, which can typically be increased by 10%. As always, stability can vary between individual GPUs, so these settings should be thoroughly tested on your card.

Stock vs. Undervolted Performance

The Last of Us

With these settings applied, testing in The Last of Us Part I saw the tuned RX 9070 improve its average core clock speed by 5%, while the memory frequency increased by 7%.

The RX 9070 XT, on the other hand, recorded a smaller 3% increase in its average core clock speed, while the memory frequency again improved by 7%.

007 First Light

In 007 First Light, the tuned settings improved RX 9070 performance by up to 10%, compared with a more modest 6% increase for the RX 9070 XT. This suggests that tuning the non-XT model can help close the performance gap.

Forza Horizon 6

Forza Horizon 6 saw the RX 9070 gain 7 – 9% from the tuned settings, whereas the XT model was up to 5% faster, though we often recorded smaller improvements of just 2 – 3%.

Marvel Rivals

Finally, testing with Marvel Rivals saw the tuned settings improve RX 9070 performance by up to 12%, though gains of around 8 – 9% were more common. Meanwhile, the RX 9070 XT received a smaller 4 – 6% performance boost from the same adjustments.

Two Similar GPUs, One Simple Choice

With the Radeon RX 9070 XT offering 12% more performance on average, you generally would not want to pay much more than that for it. Keep in mind, however, that the margin can be considerably larger in certain games and under particularly demanding test conditions, sometimes reaching around 25%.

At current pricing, AMD's RX 9070 XT starts at $720, though most models cost $730 or more. Meanwhile, the standard RX 9070 starts at $630, with $650 being a more common asking price. This makes the XT model roughly 11 – 12% more expensive, putting its premium almost perfectly in line with the average performance improvement.

In other regions this will vary. In Australia, for example, the RX 9070 starts at around $900, with multiple models available at that price.

The cheapest XT model starts at $980, a mere 9% premium, though most cost around $1,000, representing an 11% premium. Based on those prices, you might as well buy the RX 9070 XT locally if you can afford the additional $100.

Ultimately, this is a case of saving around 10% in exchange for roughly 10% less performance, so neither card is clearly the wrong choice. Personally, I would choose the RX 9070 XT if the premium were 15% or less. Beyond that, the standard RX 9070 becomes the better-value option.

Shopping Shortcuts:

• AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT on Amazon
• Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti on Amazon
• AMD Radeon RX 9070 on Amazon
• AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB on Amazon
• Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 16GB on Amazon
• Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 on Amazon